Radiophone and telephone metering system



Jan. 6, 1925." 1,522,367

. J. B. HOGE ET AL RADIOPHONE AND TELEPHONE METERING SYSTEM Filed Aug. 22, 1922 M 2 fafa/c' @m4/E ,6505/5/55 .H n. il .fr 'atenten PATENT FFECE.

GE, QF CLEVELAND, OHIO', AND EDVARD E. CLEMENT, OF WASHNGTON,

LTST'RCT QF COLiIBL/l., ASSIGNORS, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, T0 ESBWJED F. CXJLADAY, OF W'ASHINGTON. DISTRICT Ol? COLUMBIA.

Application filed August 22, 1922.

nains l. lloran and if, citizens ot the United v ie pectively, at Cleveland, 1n :nin v or cuyahogga, State or' Ohio, and

igton, in AJistrictof Columbia, rxr-rented certain new and useiul ininl'ioi'ie and. Telephone ,ufwenients in Ratt ifhis .invien relates combined radiophene and telephone systems in which the ione service and the telephone service are both to be metered. T"

it has Ator its object to reduce the number et' meters required, and this object is attained by cen necting: the metering circuits ot the radiophone central switchboard to the 'regular teiepl'ene line meters, and operating the saine when tf subscribers radiophones are in use, ,ne idle intervale so adjusted as to nie/ite the charges for radio service properly proportionate, all tl'iings considered, to the charges for telephone service.

We describe herein a type of conibined system in which the radiophone subscribers stations are located at telephone subst-ations and areI served and controlled over the same wire circuits. @n the tele- `phone side, the meters are operated by keys in the telephone operators cord circuits, or by equivalent means such as relays in autoinatic switching,l apparatus, usually when a called subscriber answers, the charges for ,service befng thus based on the number of eil'ective telephonie connections. @n the iatliophone side the system et metering, to

which. We lay no clai'n'i herein as such, is based on time-ruse principle, the meters beine' an iatieally actuated by relays acting neried J.ily as long as their respective stations are i use. Charges for radiophone are thus proportionate to the time et Ar-ieasured by recurring unit registrat-ions. Ey our 1oreseifit invention, allunits et service are registered on the saine meters, and ali. charges for service are unified.

1the invent-ion is illustrated in the acom- @angling d ing, in which: I

The figure is a diagram of a combined Wire and radio eystein equipped with one set GP-ONE ANL' TELEPHONE METERING SYSTEM.

Serial N0. 583,560.

ot' individual station meters at the central oiiice.

Referring to the drawing, A is esubscribers station equipped with telephone in strunients tor talking; and signaling over the line wires lil-19. A" is the radiophone substation of the saine subscriber, containing a radio receiver, batteries and B1, an extension telephone set T, controlled by a switch i, and a. switch hook H2 controlling:r the iilainent circuit and also placing a ground on the tip conductor 18 of the line when the radio receiver is in use. The extension-s otl line wires 18%19 to the radiophone are controlled by a cut oli relay L4 and sliunting, condenser gt, said relay beingr energized by line current when the line is in use telephonically. Extension Wire 19 is connected to the bus wire T() of the battery Dil, and extension wire iti goes to the switch hook it by which it is .grounded when the radiophone is in use, Branch wires 18e and 1t)L pass troni the relay if as direct continuations ot line Wires to the telephone set 'l"--t. lNire 18n4 goes to the induction coil l and by Wire 75 to the. switch h. Wire 19e goes to the transmitter '1" and thence by wire 7T to the switch ii. A branch of Wire 19e goes through a. condenser to the secondary ot' the induction' coil, thence to the 1-e-A ceiver t and by wire 'Z6 to the switch fr. The instruments 'l""-z may conveniently be mounted on a connecting handle containing .the switch it', and the transmitter end of this assembly may then be provided with an eye so that it may be hung up on the hook H2, substantially as shown in Letters Patent No. 1,382,273, granted to lWilliam W. Dean, June 2l, 1921.

At the central otice the line wires 18-19 terminate on multiple jacks .l with which cooperate plugs typified by l, for telephonie connections. Multiplewires 1S, 19:L and' 19" are carried to the radio switchboard where they terminate on ack J u, thowire 19 beingr continued through a back contact ot cut oti relay L to the bus bar of the main battery B', while the tip wire is continued through a normally open contact o1 the relay L00 to the windingr of a meter test relay M', the

other side oi' which is connected to the busr mutator M2 closes a circuit from Winding of relay L60 to the bus bar of the battery B periodically, at intervals determined accord-y ing to the nature of the service and the charge to be made therefor. For example, if a charge of five cents is to be made tor every fifteen minutes of use ot' the radio receivers at the subslations, then the meter commuator M2 will nrake one rotation every thirty minutes, and twice during every such period the relay LG will be energized, and relay M will be supplied with battery current whereby if there is a ground on wire 70 at the radiophone substation, said relay M will pull up and register' one unit of time or one unit charge on the line meter. It will be understood ol' course that the relays M and L and Lm in this case are individual to the line and to the substation, but that the meter cemmutator M2, the battery B and the high voltage generator M3 for supplying meter current, may all be common to the entire exchange. The relay LGo is responsive to the eominutator M2 only when eut ot relay L is deenergized, and its action is meinentary, disabling the cut off relay LG but energizinel the eut oli' relay L3 on the telephone switchboard so as to leave the tip side of line clear. If a plug is in any jack, however, relay LG is energized thereby as well as relay L, and relay L60 is disabled, so that when a line is connected the meter will not register. This is necessary in order to avoid 'false grounds through the cord circuits. The meter M shown is the regular telephone central'oflice line meter having one high Winding and one low Winding, the, high Winding being lirst energized from the generator M3 when the relay M 'pulls up or the operators key K is depressed, the construction of the meter being such that when its arma# ture is closed against the contact point shown, the high winding will be shunted by the low Winding, whereby suiiicient power to turn the meter ratchet is assured.

lt is to be understood that we make no Claim herein to the circuit shown and described for operating the meter, or Yfor trausmitting and receiving broadcast matter. The gist of the invention in this case is simply and solely the use of the ordinary telephone line meter at the central station to record the use of a radophone receiver at a sub .scribers station.

The operation of this system is as 'l i""oWs: Assuming the subseribers radiophone A to be in use, With a ground on the wire 18C, this will partially complete a. circuit 'lfor the relay M Which however remains open atthe front Contact of relay LG", which is energized periodically by the coninintator M2, its eir- Y *from the main battery B to the commutator M2, and through a back coutact of the cut-oil .relay lf' to the winding oi relay L60 and te ground. l

.Y Rit intervals the relay Lw will theretore close an operative circuit for 'the relay le', as long as the ground remains on the `wire 18 at the subseribes station; and the relay M in. pulling up con nects the meter generator M3 to the Wire lt b, and thence to the high winding or" the telephone meter M, which is usuall connected to the cut-oll relay circuit 19". s generator current is of high enough voltefre to energize the meter initially, and as soon as the armature is attracted sutlieiently to clase the short circuit througa the low Winding, cnr

rent -from the main battery will li'nish the meter movement, fioxving through circuit 19',

front contact ot relay LG from the battery l B. The operating means and circuits disclosed herein are shown and described only for the sake oit' convenience, and any suitable operating means and circuits may he substituted therefor le claim:

In a combined radio} )hone and telephone system, a central stat-ion having radio. control apparatus and a telephone switchboard, and subscribers stations having radio receiving sets and telephone instruments inde-- pendently operable, with line Wires con neeting said subscribers stations with the central station, and individual line meters at the central station, with means to regis'eiY telephone use and means to register redir phone use in aggregated service uni on the same meter.

In testimony whereof We hereunto alli); cui' signatures. 

